Est Media head resigns, replaced by shareholder with international experience

MTI – Econews

Thursday, November 10, 2011, 17:30

Chairman-CEO of entertainment guide publisher Est Media Csaba Balázs has resigned from his post and operative control of the company has been handed over to another big shareholder and board member, Csaba Pankotai, effective immediately, Est Media said late Thursday.

The company said it wants an operative head with experience on both domestic and foreign markets.

Pankotai earlier started up entertainment guides in Romania and Bulgaria.

The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism has released this yearʼs edition of its Digital News Report. With the majority of mainstream broadcast and print media outlets influenced by government agendas, digital news sources have become increasingly important in Hungary, the report says.

Following the closure of several independent media outlets in Hungary in recent times, weekly political magazine Heti Válasz has announced the end of its print edition. The move comes after unsuccessful negotiations with a potential American investor.

Investor Lőrinc Mészáros, the former pipe fitter who has risen to become one of Hungaryʼs richest men under the patronage of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, his close ally and neighbor in the village of Felcsút of which he has been mayor since 2011, said on Monday he would resign as mayor to concentrate on his business holdings.

Magyar Telekom today announced the resignation of its CEO Christopher Mattheisen. He will leave the company as of July 1, and will be replaced by Tibor Rékasi, chief commercial officer for residential services since January last year.

The Hungarian media landscape has been changing rapidly since the general elections on April 8. Following the shutdown of broadsheet daily Magyar Nemzet and radio station Lánchíd, news channel Hír TV announced layoffs on Tuesday, while last week bilingual news portal Budapest Beacon also closed down.

Magyar Nemzet, the broadsheet daily newspaper founded 80 years ago which has become increasingly critical of the government in recent times, will close down on Wednesday, reportedly due to a lack of funds. Radio station Lánchíd Rádió, belonging to the same media group, will also shut down, according to reports.

Observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) issued stern criticisms of Hungaryʼs parliamentary election process on Monday, which they said was "characterized by a pervasive overlap between state and ruling party resources, undermining contestants’ ability to compete on an equal basis."